Green Asparagus on Cam Son land

(Baonghean) -Although it has only been planted in Cam Son since the beginning of this year, the green asparagus plant has long been familiar to the people here. The plant, which originated in the US, has promised farmers an attractive source of income, opening up a way to get rich right on their homeland in the movement of “All people join hands to build new rural areas”.

Talking about the opportunity to bring green asparagus to Cam Son, Mr. Dau Xuan Phu, Chairman of Cam Son Commune People's Committee (Anh Son) took us to his garden, pointed to a small plot of land in front of the yard, where green asparagus plants were growing and said: "Around November 2011, when the commune basically completed the second land conversion, the people were very supportive and had positive results. But the diversity of new crops was almost non-existent. Fortunately, during a survey trip of the land and soil of Ha Hiep Company Limited (a company specializing in farms and plant varieties in Thai Hoa Town) from Do Luong to Con Cuong, they discovered that the soil quality and climate conditions of Cam Son were very suitable for growing green asparagus. The company officially raised the issue and invited our commune officials to visit their model. Seeing this as a new and effective direction, we held a meeting with households that previously specialized in growing squash and pumpkin in the hilly land to disseminate the effectiveness, It is convenient to grow green asparagus." Mr. Phu laughed. "Cam Son people are also very "passionate" about change. Upon hearing that, 20 households immediately applied to convert. But after consideration, the commune decided to allow 8 households in Ha Du village to plant a pilot crop with an area of ​​about 5 hectares." Although still confused, the people of Ha Du village were excited to start working hard with the new plant. In addition, Ha Hiep company only took 50% of the value of the seed source (priced at 12,000 VND/plant pot) in advance, and at the same time sent technical staff to give specific instructions to the people. The company would buy all the products made. And from there, the plants just started to branch out and sprout in Ha Du soil.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh (Ha Du village - Cam Son commune - Anh Son) is taking care of green asparagus in her garden.

On the way to the green asparagus gardens, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang told us more: Asparagus was introduced to our country in the 1980s, and is now grown in many provinces and cities across the country. The plant can be harvested continuously for 6-8 years, or even 10-15 years if properly cared for. There are many different varieties of asparagus in the world such as purple asparagus, white asparagus and green asparagus. After 2-3 months of incubation and 4-6 months of planting, the plant begins to yield, with an average yield of 8-10kg/1,000m2/day (yield will increase gradually over time), and the harvest time is about 9 months/year. The current garden price is from 40,000-80,000 VND/kg depending on the type.

We went to the garden of Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh, one of the first 8 households to plant green asparagus. Ms. Oanh was busy picking the first batch of asparagus in the middle of the garden, still wet with mud from the recent rain, and still took the opportunity to talk to us: “Since the land conversion, my family has received 2.5 sao of land near our house. Seeing that the commune encouraged planting green asparagus, my husband and I discussed and decided right away. This plant is easy to grow, easier to care for than watermelon and squash. The only important thing is to water it every day, "it" likes moisture. Fertilizer only needs manure, nitrogen fertilizer every 15 days, once a month, and there have been no pests or diseases.” Ms. Oanh also revealed: “When we first started, my husband and I went online to find out, and they told us that planting sparsely would be better, so my family only planted 800 plants/sao.” Indeed, the Ha Du people who came to this strange plant also caught up with the times by using the internet to immediately apply it to their own land. Her family is growing about 2,000 green asparagus plants on an area of ​​2.5 sao with full hope.

By chance, we met Mr. Nguyen Van Tham, a technical officer of Ha Hiep Company, who is also "working together" with Ha Du green asparagus. He said that the company in Thai Hoa Town has been growing about 2,500m2 since 2010 and the yield and quality are very promising. In Thai Hoa Town, there are also 5 households growing green asparagus with an area of ​​about 2 hectares, and in Quy Hop there are 10 households also growing about 2 hectares. The company is looking to find more suitable lands to expand this high-value plant, both helping people to reduce hunger and poverty and creating momentum for the company itself. As for the products made by the people, the company will buy all of them at a suitable price. According to Mr. Tham, the first batches of green asparagus have been packaged, labeled, and exported to the Hanoi market and to the South. Most recently, green asparagus has also found its way to gourmets in Vinh City. But, as Tham said, Ha Hiep's direction is to bring green asparagus to big supermarkets in Vinh such as BigC, Intimex, Metro... because this is a high-class vegetable, with a clear origin, so it needs a worthy position and price... I really hope that in the future, not only Ha Du, but also 11 villages of Cam Son, from Cam Thang, Nhan Tai, Ke May... to Cam Hoa on the other side of the river, green asparagus will, along with traditional plants, bring worthy results to the people when they dare to break through and dare to do.

Tran Hai